Cross-Sectional Imaging of Third Molar–Related Abnormalities

Abstract

Third molars may be associated with a wide range of pathologic conditions, including mechanical, inflammatory, infectious, cystic, neoplastic, and iatrogenic. Diagnosis of third molar-related conditions can be challenging for radiologists who lack experience in dental imaging. Appropriate imaging evaluation can help practicing radiologists arrive at correct diagnoses, thus improving patient care. This review discusses the imaging findings of various conditions related to third molars, highlighting relevant anatomy and cross-sectional imaging techniques. In addition, key imaging findings of complications of third molar extraction are presented.

Complications in the extraction of impacted, and retained third molars. Literature Review. [English translation-Original in Spanish]

“…(Poblete et al, 2020) As described in the literature, some of the main characteristics that increase the difficulty of surgery are the roots due to the chance of being fused, thin, without a conventional anatomical shape, making extraction more complex. (Loureiro et al, 2020) At the level of the coronal diameter it seems to be similar to that of the lower first and second molars.…”

“…Glera-Suárez et al, 2020)(Jaroń et al, 2020)(Kim et al, 2018)(Konkel et al, 2019)(Loureiro et al, 2020)(Mahardawi et al, 2020)(Marinkovic et al, 2020) to surgery Complications of lower third molars before supernumerary teeth. Pharmacotherapy after extraction.…”

Prevalence of taurodontism in individuals in Northwest China determined by cone-beam computed tomography images

“…This study excluded third molars because third molars have larger variations among different populations [ 19 ]. In addition, the third molars may be removed due to neoplastic, infectious, inflammatory, iatrogenic, cystic and other conditions [ 20 ]. Premolars were added to this study and were excluded by some studies [ 21 , 22 ] because premolars (except the first maxillary premolar) usually do not have more root bifurcations and are thought to have a small chance of taurodontism (0.79%) [ 23 ].…”

Microbiota dysbiosis in odontogenic rhinosinusitis and its association with anaerobic bacteria

“…Several factors have been reported to be associated with CRS, including anatomic abnormalities, immune dysfunction, host genetics, and microbial dysbiosis 15 , 23 . Odontogenic rhinosinusitis is usually diagnosed when a CT scan indicates a bone defect in the maxillary sinus floor, and odontogenic rhinosinusitis is typically associated with an infection of dental origin 24 . Through metagenomics analysis, Lucas et al reported that anaerobic microbiota plays a crucial virulence role in CRS; they also revealed that a mucin-degrading anaerobic microbial consortium, composed of Prevotella , Fusobacterium , and Streptococcus , enhances the virulence of CRS–related S. aureus 25 .…”